Category Archives: Non-Profits

By LEE COLEMAN

The Glens Falls Area Youth Center has embarked on a capital campaign to raise $900,000 for an addition onto the center at 60 Montcalm Street in Glens Falls.

The center serves students in 5th grade through 12th grade, many of them at risk, lacking resources and food security at home. Ninety percent of the youth center members are from families below the poverty line and qualify for free or reduced lunch at their schools.

Molly Congdon-Hunsdon, the daughter of the late youth center founder Matt Congdon, said the capital campaign will fund a 3,000-square-foot addition to the existing 6,000-square-foot center.

“We want to start construction in June of 2025,” said Congdon-Hunsdon, who is the center’s executive director. The center’s current building opened in 2000 and more space is required for the health and wellness of the members as more children use the facility.

Congdon-Hunsdon said that on any given day during the school year between 70 and 90 children come to the center in the afternoon and evening. During summer months, when school is out, between 40 and 50 students come to the center each day.

By Rod Bacon

Since 1977, the Moreau Community Center has been assisting those in the tri-county area who need a bit of help in their lives.

Established in the former Methodist church on Main Street in South Glens Falls, the center offers an extensive menu of activities and support services. 

“In the beginning the center did not do all the things that we do now,” said Executive Director Donna Nichols, who took over that position in 2010. “They primarily ran a pre-school, Meals On Wheels, and a senior program.”

Nichols has extensive experience with non-profit organizations, having spent 26 years with Community, Work & Independence, Inc. (CWI) in Glens Falls.

Today the center offers 19 programs and services aimed at enhancing the lives of everyone from youngsters to senior citizens.

One of the more important offerings at this time of year is the Holiday Caring Program. Thanksgiving and Christmas meals and children’s gifts are provided to hundreds of income-eligible South Glens Falls residents. As is the case with many of the center’s programs, financial and “adopt-a-family” donors are welcome to contribute, as are volunteers to administer it. 

“We had about 70 families that we provided a meal for at Thanksgiving and we will be doing the same thing for Christmas,” said Nichols. “People who adopt a family will buy gifts for the kids so not only does the family get a meal the kids get presents. We give all this out on December twentieth.”

Nichols noted that the center has “a small army” of volunteers, without whom it could not operate successfully. 

By Sabrina Houser

When I first started in the role of CEO and CFO at the nonprofit I was privileged to run, I quickly realized how important the financials were to the organization. I realized that although we were talking about profit and loss, revenue/expenses, black/red net balances, what we were really talking about was our mission.

The kids we served. How many more or fewer we could help. How each dollar directly correlated to our programs. The more money we were able to raise, the more we could do. The less we raise, the more we needed to cut back.

Because of this direct correlation between dollars and program scope and impact, the  CFO of a nonprofit plays a key role in advancing the mission of the organization. It is never just about the numbers – it is about the mission. It is also always about the numbers, because without solid financial information it is impossible to make strategic, informed decisions regarding service delivery, program sustainability and the future direction of the organization.

For these reasons, the role of CFO is critical.

The Saratoga Builders Association prented proceeds totaling $70,000 from the 2023 Saratoga Showcase of Homes to Rebuilding Together Saratoga County and Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties. The Saratoga Builders Association announced that the total contribution to local charities from this area’s premiere new home tour event is now over $1.5 million.

The 2023 edition of the Saratoga Showcase of Homes had nine homes from 11 builders on tour this year – Belmonte Builders (2), DeGraff Bloom Custom Homes, DSG Construction & Remodeling, Kodiak Construction (2), R & M Homes, Whitbeck Construction, and Witt Construction.    R & M Homes won the People’s Choice Award for Executive Home and Witt Construction won the People’s Choice Award for Luxury Home. This year’s event attracted over 2,500 visitors to these new homes, which were on display over two weekends. In what has become an autumn tradition in the area, the Saratoga Builders Association is dedicated to this long running show being an integral part of the fabric in the fall season.

By Sabrina Houser

Where is your organization’s strategic plan and how are you using it in your day-to-day operations? You know the strategic plan we’re referring to: the 3-5 year plan that took many, many person hours to develop, refine and write. The one that brought together staff, board, and stakeholders to articulate a common vision and a path forward toward that vision. 

Is it sitting on a shelf in your office in a nicely tabbed binder never to be seen again until you need space on the shelf for something else? This, unfortunately, is the fate of many strategic plans. It is something of an in-joke in the nonprofit sector that the fate of most strategic plans, despite the effort that went into their creation, is to gather dust on a shelf in the office until it is time to develop a new strategic plan to replace it. 

When done with purpose, strategic planning is an invigorating, energizing and community building process. It is an inherently motivating and hopeful activity to connect goals and objectives to a shared vision for your organization. Everyone involved feels a sense of accomplishment and shared purpose when the plan is complete. 

The truth is that your strategic plan is not an end product: it is a starting point. It is the beginning of your organization’s journey toward the shared vision that has been created. Unfortunately, because staff, Board and the Strategic Planning committee feel their work is finished after the strategic plan is written, the implementation of the completed plan is often left as solely the Executive Director’s responsibility. With no clear plan for implementation, this feels overwhelming. Lack of clarity about authority and coordination of communication and accountability are a death knell for even the most well-developed strategic plan.

By Susan Elise Campbell

From its main campus in Queensbury, Southern Adirondack Independent Living is making programs and services accessible to residents of 17 counties across New York. SAIL’s main goal is to help the elderly and those with disabilities remain safely in their homes and avoid skilled nursing care or institutional placement. While this non-profit has built on that objective for 35 years, executive director Tyler Whitney said the needs of the community are ever-changing, and especially so with a growing senior population in the post-COVID world.

“We have come a very long way in letting people know about what we can do for people with disabilities or those looking for services for their families,” Whitney said. “Before COVID people would say to me, ‘You’re the best kept secret.’ But that was like a sword in my heart because we want people to come to us. We are here to help.”

Over recent years the team at SAIL has done much to broaden awareness and build their brand,  hiring Cam Cardinale as director of community relations. Whitney said Cardinale’s role is to engage with stakeholders, both community members and partner agencies, to show how SAIL ties into different facets of the community, such as recreation, tourism, independent living, health insurance and more. 

By Susan Elise Campbell

Knitt LLC, a subscription-based service that connects donor businesses with a specific mission and appropriate nonprofit organizations, formally hit the philanthropic world at the end of October. 

The soft launch follows two years of development, three months of beta testing, and a short time building up the funds for founder Lisa Munter to kick off the service regionally.

The service  helps plan, make and track charitable donations. 

“While the platform is designed to be scaled worldwide, we in the Capital District, Saratoga and the Adirondacks are the first on this journey because this is the area where we live, work and play,” said Munter. “Knitt is a different way to handle philanthropy and it is going to take some time to grow it.”

Munter said “when you launch a service into the world there are a lot of questions about what the infant business is going to be.”

By Sabrina Houser

Many nonprofits rely heavily on securing grants to fund the programs and initiatives that serve our communities. Grant writing services for nonprofit organizations are often handled by staff that have many other responsibilities as well. 

One strategy for success that is often overlooked or dismissed as too expensive is to contract with a grant writer or grant consultant. A grant writing consultant can work with existing staff to maximize the chances of success. 

A nonprofit grant consultant reviews the organization’s mission and finds grants that fit the mission. An outsourced grant consultant will also work with staff to make current grant applications align with funding requirements. A consultant can review, edit, and make suggestions to increase the  chances of submitting a successful grant application.

Grant management for nonprofits requires skill, time, and experience. Every grant comes with funder expectations for reporting, tracking of expenditures and program outcomes. Restrictions may also be placed on what the funds may be expended on. Tracking and reporting expenditures, properly allocating funds to allowed expenses, as well as measuring and evaluating program outcomes fall under the purview of grant management.

One of the critical functions of a nonprofit grant consultant is in strategizing funding support for specific initiatives and programs. A grant consultant’s experience with Federal, State, and private or corporate foundations can be an invaluable asset to a nonprofit that is struggling to secure grant funding or would like to increase their grant success rate.